Women Pensioners
Work and Pensions

Ms Annabelle Ewing (Spokesperson (Social Security (SNP Shadow Scottish Minister); Education & Skills; Home Office; Law Officers; Work & Pensions); Perth, Scottish National Party)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his oral answer of 13 December 2004, Official Report, column 1382, on women pensioners, how many (a) older elderly people and (b) women were in receipt of pension credit in Scotland on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Malcolm Wicks (Minister for pensions, Department for Work and Pensions; Croydon North, Labour)

At 31 October there were 89,100 households in Scotland in receipt of pension credit in which the claimant was aged 80 or over. These households comprise 97,215 individuals, some of whom will be aged under 80. There will also be a number of households in which a claimant aged under 80 has a partner aged 80 or over. It is not possible to give a figure for these. At the same date, 218,370 women in Scotland were in receipt of pension credit, either as individuals or as part of a couple.

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures are available for 31 October 2004 as the final output of processes that were put in place to deliver special monthly reporting during the first year of the roll-out of pension credit. As Parliament was told in the statement accompanying the last such report, data will in future be available on a quarterly basis, in line with standard departmental practice. The next report, covering data as at 31 December 2004, should be laid in the House in January 2005. 3. The 97,215 individual recipients will include a number of partners under age 80 and may include a small number of partners under age 60. 4. The 218,370 women in receipt of pension credit may include a small number of partners under age 60.